Acceptance of interracial marriage varies by age and education.
Shifting Attitudes
Much has changed since Loving v. Virginia made interracial marriage legal across the 50 states in 1967.
In the 1960s, only a handful of Americans supported interracial marriage.
However in 2017, 39 percent actually say that interracial marriage is good for society according to a Pew research poll.
Actor Aziz Ansari jokingly said, “Anytime you have sex with someone of a different race, think about that for a moment. Because nothing feels better than orgasming while thinking about all the progress we’ve made in civil rights in this country.”
On a more serious note, the number of Americans saying they oppose interracial has decreased sharply.
Only nine percent of Americans now think that interracial marriage is bad for society.
“I think it’s something that needs to be said—that there are interracial marriages out there, and the couples live happy lives, and there’s nothing wrong with it,” said actress Tia Mowry.
Two main reasons for the shift in attitudes towards interracial marriage are age and education.
According to PewSocialTrends.org, “Americans with at least a bachelor’s degree are much more likely than those with less education to say more people of different races marrying each other is a good thing for society (54 percent of those with a bachelor’s degree or more vs. 39 percent of those with some college education and 26 percent of those with a high school diploma or less).
“Among adults with a high school diploma or less, 16 percent say this trend is bad for society, compared with six percent of those with some college experience and four percent of those with at least a bachelor’s degree.”
According to PewSocialTrends.org, over half (54 percent) of people ages 18-29 say that interracial marriages are good for American society.
On the other hand, only 26 percent of Americans over the age of 65 believe that marrying people outside of one’s race is beneficial to society.
Many Americans over the age of 65 (60 percent), however, believe that marrying outside of one’s race does not make a difference at all, while 42 percent of those in the 18-29-age range believe that it does not a make a difference.
Between different racial groups, the numbers of people who support interracial marriages vary.
PewSocialTrends.org reported, “Blacks (18 percent) are more likely than Whites (nine percent) and Hispanics (three percent) to say more people of different races marrying each other is generally a bad thing for society, though there are no (significant) difference by race or ethnicity on whether it is a good thing for society.”
According to Pew Research, Asians and Hispanics were the most likely to be married outside of their race.
Thirty-nine percent of U.S. born Hispanics were married to someone outside of their race according to statistics taken in 2015.
For U.S. born Asians, 46 percent were married outside of their race according to 2015 statistics.
Pew Research also discovered that newlywed Black men (24 percent) were twice as likely to be married outside of their race than Black women (12 percent).
